


Tastes Like Cotton Candy

by Butch_Orc



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Comedy, Denial of Feelings, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gay Coran (Voltron), Gay Disaster Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, Near Death Experiences, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Space Uncle Coran (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-09-18 08:20:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16991394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butch_Orc/pseuds/Butch_Orc
Summary: “That's not what I meant to say!” Lance's face was even redder than before,“HOLY SHIT KEITH I CAN'T LIE! ” the fact that Lance still slept with stuffed animals was just catching up to him, Keith could hardly comprehend this new development.“What do you mean you can’t lie?”“EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE KOGANE! I WOULD HAVE NEVER TOLD YOU THOSE THINGS!” He just stared, the realization hitting him,“What you're telling me is, that I could ask you ANYTHING right now and you'd have to tell me the truth?”Lance looked as though he had seen a herd of Galra.“...yeah”Oh, this...this was going to be fun.





	1. Lance's Biggest Fear is Baldness

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, long time no fic! I just started writing again, and had go back to my roots: Klance. This fic is for fun, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. I stopped watching Voltron around season 3, and dont really plan to pick it back up, but I still love the characters. So dont expect everything to fit neatly into cannon. I love you all! Hope you have as much fun with this as I have!
> 
> Ps. Pls listen to my Klance playlist on Spotify while reading this! My username is imphsrule ',:))

“FUCK!”

Lance launched to the right just in time to narrowly avoid a crackling electric projectile as it whizzed past his ear. He landed hard on his side with an, “Oof!” as the wind was knocked out of him. 

“Lance! On your feet!” he heard Shiro yell from his vantage point on the other side of the training deck.

“Why are you yelling at ME?” he challenged, not rising yet, both out of pettiness and the slowly spreading ache of his shoulder. 

“Isn't The Mullet supposed to be covering m-OOF”

His breath was gone once again as a gladiator he hadn't seen coming rushed him from behind and gave a swift kick to his kidney area. Lance could practically hear his leader's sigh from here. He rolled over, cursing his own inattention, and grabbed the bot around both ankles, sweeping it roughly to the ground. Grasping for his splayed bayard blindly, he pinned his foe and shot point blank into it's stupid metal face. The lights flashed, signaling the end of the simulation. He rose to his feet, panting heavily, and looked up to rest his eyes on Keith, who was surrounded by a pile of dead gladiators, sword still in hand. He looked like he had barely broken a sweat. Of fucking course. 

Lance wrenched his chestplate over his head, and let it drop to the floor with a clang. His shirt was positively soaked, and he couldn't get his breathing under control.  The fact that he was massively pissed didn't help. He strode up to his ‘partner’ with murder in his eyes.

“And where the HELL were you when I was getting turned into swiss cheese by fucking Goku?”

Keith looked like he didn't get the reference, or the hostility. 

“I was over here, taking out enemies, like we were both  _ supposed  _ to be doing.”

Lance could feel his blood begin to boil.

“NO. What you were SUPPOSED to be doing, was covering my close range combatants, while I took out long range targets, you massive sentient pile of hair!” 

“Hold it! Just, hold it!” Shiro jogged up just in time to put a hand between Lance and his target, who seemed just as eager to get his claws out. 

“Both of you could have done better in that simulation.” 

Lance's mouth went agape.

“But Shiro he didn't even follow the instructions!”

“I wouldn't HAVE to cover you, if you were a better shot!” 

“ENOUGH!” At the sound of Angry Shiro both boys fell silent. No one with an ounce of self preservation wanted to mess with Angry Shiro. 

“Do you know why I brought you two here to train while everyone else got leisure time?” 

Lance felt his anger flair, and then dissipate. He looked sheepishly at the floor, his head filled with self deprecating thoughts. Of course he knew. It was obvious after the way that simulation had gone. Like always, he was being compared to Keith. The best pilot and the worst pilot on the same training deck. Shiro had brought him here to make him learn from the  _ ‘perfect’ _ red Paladin, he was sure of it. This exercise was yet another example of his own failure. He shrunk even smaller in on himself.

“I brought you here because you two are the best pilots on our team,” Lance raised his head at that, eyes wide. Shiro thought he was a good pilot? No, one of the BEST pilots?

“ _ BUT  _ you two are both  _ dumbasses _ .”

Ah. There is was. 

“Lance, you have a massive chip on your shoulder.  Until you stop comparing yourself to everyone else, especially Keith, you will never be focused enough to do your best work. We are saving the universe. This isn't about competition, or status, or you. This is about saving innocent lives.”

Keith shot him a self righteous smirk. He wanted to smack that smug smile right off his face, but Lance knew if he protested it would only prove Shiro's point. So he looked away, feeling annoyed that his leader had such a pinpoint insight into his emotions. 

“And Keith,” Lance perked up as the smirk slid off his teammates face,

“You need to start focusing on the ‘Team’ aspect of Team Voltron. You still fight like you’re the only one on the field. I know you were a loner for a long time, but you are part of something bigger than yourself now. These people here are your family, and in a family, even if you fight sometimes, you have each other's backs, no matter what.” 

Both paladins were silent as their leader’s words sunk in. The air was heavy, and Lance felt somewhat exposed. Shiro looked down at his two, now humbled, charges. Lance felt the gaze pass over him like an ant under a magnifying glass. 

“Now don’t get all broody on me. My point wasn't to make you two look like a couple of kicked dogs. It was to reassure you  _ both  _ that you are valued members of this team. You don't need to worry about not measuring up, or having to rush into every battle head on just to prove you belong. You proved your worth the moment you were chosen as Paladins of Voltron. The only thing you have to prove now is how much Galra ass we can kick!”

Lance chuckled under his breath, realizing this was only the second time he had heard the man curse.

“Alright,” Shiro clapped a heavy hand on each of their backs,

“I think that's enough for tonight. We can run this drill again tomorrow afternoon. I want you both to think about my words in the meantime. And please, try to get along.”

 

The larger Paladin strode out of the room, leaving Lance and Keith standing awkwardly in the dense silence. Lance had a lot to think about, and he wasn't sure how excited he was about having his soul bared to his biggest irritation on the team. He turned to go, but stopped in his tracks when he heard Keith mumble something lowly. 

“What?” Lance snapped, turning to face his rival, expecting the sharp words that usually made up their conversations.

“You know I always thought this ‘rivalry’ thing was stupid right?”  Lance was surprised at the softness with which the line was delivered. He watched, as Keith seemed to squirm under the observation, absently tucking a few strands of hair behind his ear. He noted that they almost instantly came loose again.

“I never saw you as competition.” said Keith, who immediately seemed to regret his phrasing as Lance’s face contorted with indignation. 

“W, WAIT, THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT.” He, sputtered, sighing heavily. He tucked the offending hair again and looked away, a nervous tick Lance realized he had witnessed many times before. Wait? Was Keith nervous? 

“What I mean is, I never… compared you to me, Lance. It was you who started all of… this. I never wanted to make you feel like you weren't good enough. Maybe I've been sort of a dick, but I didn't want this. I never meant to make this whole, you and me thing, an issue. So If I goaded you on, or made you feel like I thought I was better than you then.. I'm…..” He sighed deep and resigned,

“Sorry.”

Lance felt surprised and confused at the seemingly genuine apology.

“I just want all of us to be on our best game, so that's why I can maybe be a little hard on you sometimes. Believe me, I'm just as hard on myself… You're actually…. A pretty good paladin.”

Lance’s heart skipped a beat at that. Keith admitted that he was a good pilot. He had looked into his face and said it. Lance couldn't believe his ears. He couldn't remember how long he had been waiting to hear those words. Keith didn't seem to know what to do with his teammates shocked expression.

“Ya,, yah know, for a cargo pilot or whatever,” he backpedaled, “All I'm saying is, you don't like, need to use me as a benchmark. It's not like I'm perfect either.” He shuffled one foot a little bit, and continued to look at anything other then Lance's eyes.

Lance was stunned. He hadn't expected any of this from the golden boy. For the first time in a long time, Lance looked down at Keith, and saw a human being, not an irritatingly unattainable set of goals. And  _ boy _ did that make him feel like a douche bag. He had spent so long putting Keith on a pedestal, he wasn't really used to seeing him at eye level anymore. Sure Keith was an ass, an annoyingly perfect ass, but maybe Lance had been just a bit more bitter and jealous about that then he had a right to be.

“Look Mul-...Keith,” he started sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“ I guess I never really thought about the fact that you didn't sign on for this. I just always assumed you thought I was as insufferable as I found you.”

“Well, insufferable, ye-”

“AH AH, DON'T you interrupt my glowing apology helmet hair!”

He startled a bit when he caught Keith biting back a smile. This all felt so… weird, for them to be joking and talking like they hadn't just spent months at each other's throats. But, he noted almost laughing in a crazy, giddy way, it actually felt… good.

“Anyway, all I'm saying is, maybe I've sort of been a little petty. Just because you're good at something, doesn't mean you're doing it to one-up me. I guess what I really mean is-,”

He smiled lopsidedly, and held out a fist towards Keith, who seemed to regard it with suspicion. Lance did laugh then.

“I'm not going to hit you Mullet, it's a fist bump.” He seemed to understand and gaped at the friendly gesture.

“To being a team, from now on? No more rivalry?” 

“You're just going to give it up that easily?”

Lance smiled his signature, shit eating grin.

“Well no, but I'm sure my general superiority will shine even without me having to point it out.” 

He saw Keith open his mouth as if to retort, but he only let out a sigh, shook his head with a slight smile, and bumped their fists together. Lance looked into the strangely purple (had they always been purple?) eyes of his teammate, and felt a little thrill run through him. They stayed like that for a few moments as Lance took in the uncommonly happy expression on his new found friend's face. He was surprised at how good making Keith smile felt. Until all of a sudden he realized their fists had been touching for an oddly long amount of time, and pulled his away awkwardly, coughing into it once.

“Ahem, well that was fun and sappy, but I think I'm gonna retire to my room now, so I can start working on our matching friendship bracelets.” 

“If you make me one of those, I'm letting it and you out of the airlock,” deadpanned Keith.

Lance couldn't help but laugh again. 

“Alright, good night space cadet!”

 

As Lance walked back to his room, he couldn't help but smile. He was actually sort of afraid his smile was going to split his face. Of course he was happy to hear that Shiro believed in him. And, he actually got to witness him do a curse! Good for Shiro! He made a mental note to tease his leader about his potty mouth. But, the most surprising, and significant event of the night, was he and Keith's strangely genuine heart-to-heart. He couldn't help but feel a little skip in his step at the thought. Keith didn't hate him. He wasn't trying to constantly one up him like he had always assumed. And best of all, Keith thought he was a good pilot. Keith was just trying to make him do his best. Well by quiznak, he was GOING to do his best! It wasn't going to be easy to get over his own insecurities, but making Keith feel happy felt…. Oddly more satisfying then making him feel like shit. Lance really liked that feeling. Who would have known? From now on, he vowed, he was going to try to focus on saving the universe, not on his own petty power struggles. He was going to get the praise he deserved by being a good teammate, and kicking some good old fashioned Galra butt! Not Keith's. As Lance walked into his quarters and sank, gratefully into bed, he let out an exhausted sigh. The unsolicited image of Keith's butt abruptly popped into his head. He laughed lightly at the association, and sank swiftly into a deep sleep, without the presence of mind to wonder why he was thinking about another boy's ass. 

 

Lance's dreams that night were, as usual, fitful, dark and intense. Complex in the way that made them hard to remember. They were filled with his normal recurring worries: the loss of his family, his detriment to the team, going bald, but at last they settled on a nightmare he had had a thousand times since joining team voltron. In the dream, he would be in his lion. They would float in a black abyss that looked both like space and a deep body of water. It was hard to move through, like inky molasses, and when he spoke nothing could come out, except a cloud of breath. Far in the distance he would see a pinpoint of light, and was always compelled to move toward it. As he would get closer he could see the light emanated from a person. A princess. She was turned away from him, and her long dark hair flowed out into the blackness so far, that he could not see where it ended. She was beautiful. He would move closer, and suddenly large purple spikes would shoot out from the dark, each one pointing at her. He would always feel the intense need to save her. Every time he had had this dream before, he would try to surge forward, only to find that blue, no matter how hard she flailed her limbs, was stuck treading in the same place, as he watched the spikes slowly impale the mysterious woman. He would scream, but nothing would come out, and then he would wake up in a cold sweat.

Dream Lance almost seemed to expect this outcome by now, so when this time, his lion gained traction in the endless blackness, he let out a small gasp that came out as a puff of breath. They gradually gained speed, until they were hurtling towards the princess, gaining ground as the spikes came closer and closer to her glowing form. Lance was suddenly aware that it was he who was streaming toward her, arms outstretched, both his lion and not, as he crashed into his sparkling target. He embraced her, and just pushed her out of the way as the spikes converged on the the spot where she had been. Her long hair billowed out behind them as they hurtled forward, a single cannonball tumbling through space. Slowly, they floated to a steady pace. Lance loosened his grip on her as they bobbed gently to a halt. He watched in awe as she turned to face him for the first time. Her eyes were closed, but the face he saw there, was familiar. That long dark hair swooped over a well defined brow, across a strong cheekbone, and pooled over a pair of broad shoulders, before floating off into nothingness. Lance was hypnotized as she, no, he smiled the uncharacteristically wide smile Lance was fast becoming obsessed with.  _ So this is the prince I've been waiting for all this time, _ he thought. Keith opened his eyes. As he did they shone a brilliant, red-purple light into Lance's face, the likes of which he had never seen. God he was so beautiful. Lance was sure Keith's eyes must be brighter than the sun, but he looked directly into them, not wanting to turn away for even a second. He never wanted to take his eyes off of him again.

“Thank you, my hero.” he said, in a voice ethereal. 

Lance could only breathe out an awed breath. The steam floated around the other boy's head like a wreath. And in that moment, he was struck with the need to do something. Slowly, confidently, he raised his hand, and brushed an errant strand of Keith’s long, dark hair, behind his ear. 

Then suddenly, there was only screaming. 


	2. Keith, the Crazy Metal Cat Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith wants friends that dont need transmission fluid

Keith was already up when the alarm when off. He had just finished counting off pushup number 46, when the light next to his door dimmed, and switched to an eerie red hue. He was on his feet before the siren started wailing, pushing out his door and into the hallway, where he nearly ran headfirst into a groggy Hunk coming out of the room next to his.

“UHHHGgg,” he groaned, wiping the sleep out of his eye,

“I dont get why the galaxy can’t wait to be in mortal peril until after 8am!” The large man blinked blearily and glanced at Keith with a small chuckle. 

“Ya know, you probably have time to get dressed.” 

Keith looked down at himself. He had almost forgotten he was only in his boxers. 

“Oh, ok well, I guess I'll grab something. Meet you on the bridge?” 

“Where ELSE would I be at 5 in the morning?” grouched his fellow paladin as he ambled towards the front of the ship. 

Keith returned to his room, hurriedly pulled on a pair of pants, grabbed a shirt from the floor that smelled at least mostly clean, and ran back out the door with it in hand. This time he did run head first into someone: Lance. 

“Geez, watch where you're-” Keith did watch as Lance looked up to figure out who had done a swan dive into his stomach. For a second, he could have sworn he had caught Lance on fire by the way his eyes widened comically as he looked Keith up and down, and quickly pulled his hands off the other man's shoulders.  For good measure, the blue Paladin jumped backwards putting at least 3 feet of distance between them. 

“Hey, you ok? You look like you just saw a Galra or something.” he asked, taking in the boy's panic riddled expression.  

“uH y,YeAh, ww,why wouldn't I be?”

Keith slipped his shirt over his head, completely missing the way lance's eyes followed the motion.

“Well, for starters, we're apparently under a threat,” he pointed towards the flashing red lights that lined both sides of the hallway. The blue paladin’s adam's apple bobbed in a nervous gulp.

“Oh, uh, yeah, that.” 

“Well come on, slowpoke, you slept in. I think everyone else is already on the bridge.” 

He jogged ahead, glancing back every once in a while to make sure Lance was coming. He expected to see his teammate gaining ground up alongside him, as that sort of remark would usually spark his competitive spirit, but he was strangely disappointed to note that lance was jogging at a steady pace, keeping a notable distance between the two.  _ Maybe he’s just trying to let go of the rivalry thing, like he said _ , thought Keith. He frowned, realizing, somewhat surprised, that he missed the desperate, competitive Lance, who would have tackled him right then and there in order to win a stupid race. He shook off the thought as they entered the main deck. The rest of team Voltron stood around a large monitor that had been lowered from the ceiling. Allura waited on her platform next the the screen patiently as the last of her crew joined them. Keith took his place next to shiro, and watched incredulously as Lance made a point of walking all the way across the room to stand as far away from him as possible. He almost opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the sound of the princess clearing her voice. 

“Thank you all for coming here this early. I know this is inconvenient, but I assure you I would not have roused you unless it was of the utmost importance,” she gestured widely to the large image to her left. On the screen was the frozen image of a blue alien-being crouched under what appeared to be a table. The individual wasn't entirely humanoid, they lacked a nose, their features seemed oddly exaggerated, and they appeared to be somewhat covered in a fine layer of tiny feathers instead of hair. But, thought Keith, even without a knowledge of their anatomy, the look of pure terror on their face was apparent. 

“We received this communication early this morning. The signal seems to stem from the planet Cristoa  which was a great ally of the Altean people 10,000 years ago. We had assumed the population was extinct because our radars have not picked up any life signals in their sector, until now. The ship, with the help of our own Pidge, has just finished translating this message,” at that, she began the video. The picture was static-y and halting, but the person on the screen began to move. They were breathing heavily, and looking left and right, as if expecting to be interrupted at any moment.  

“I am council member Vai Takesh Tol, of the Cristoan empire. The galactic year is 15,045 AG, this is an urgent bulletin for anyone traveling through the Gageish quadrant.  My people have been enslaved by the Galra.” they licked their lips, and looked around again, before resuming their message in a loud whisper. 

“We have been enslaved some 1,000 galactic years now. The Galra force my people to mine our planet for natural resources, build their terrible warships, and wait on them hand and foot. We live in squalor. Our scholars are made to create new weapons of mass destruction for use against our own people. The weak and the sick are mercilessly slaughtered.  I have only escaped such a peril because of my high level knowledge of our assets, but our planet has little left to give, and I have heard talk that soon they will be rid of us all. They want to use our home as a strategic outpost.” 

A noise sounded in the background and their eyes widened in terror. 

“PLEASE,” They cried frantically, 

“This transmission is my people's last hope! If you find this message please, please help us!” The camera seemed to shift angles, jostling around unsteadily, until all that was within view was a large black boot.

“PLEASE NO, DEAR GOLI, NO!” They cried, now off screen.

“YOU, Y,YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! MY PEOPLE ARE STILL MIGHTY! WE STILL HAVE HO-AH,  _ AAHHH _ !” With a loud crack, and thump, the counselor fell sickeningly silent. On screen, the boot raised up, and came back down swiftly on the camera. Suddenly the video dissolved into static. 

 

Keith was stunned. The tension in the room was palpable. Sure Keith had seen the Galra commit numerous atrocities, but the terror with which this person had pleaded for help, any help for their dying people, chilled him to the core. They risked everything to save their species. And if the noises from the other side of the camera indicated what he thought, they had paid the ultimate price. 

Allura cleared her throat yet again.

“Ahem, yes, well, as you might expect we have already altered our course towards Cristoa. Our scanners are still picking up no lifeforms in the entire sector. We assume the Galra are using some sort of cloaking device or scrambler. At any rate we have no clue as to what we are up against, but be prepared for heavy resistance. The Cristoan Empire was a strong force back before the Galran takeover. So for them to be held captive for such a time, the Galra must have quite a formidable fleet orbiting their planet. It will be several vargas before we reach the Gageish quadrant, so do what you must do to be prepared, and meet back here when the alarm is sounded.”

Keith hung back as everyone began filtering out of the room. The gravity of their next mission was weighing heavily on him, but so was whatever was going on with him and Lance. Shiro lightly hit the back of his arm in passing.

“Keith, I'm going to the training deck, need to blow off some steam. Do you want to join me?” 

He rubbed the back of his neck as his mentor looked at him expectantly. 

“Uh, thanks Shiro, but there's a few other things I need to get done. Maybe later.”

“Suit yourself,” and with that, he left with a wave. 

Keith waited as the last of his teammates headed out the door, until only him and Lance were left in the big empty room. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed, knowing the blue Paladin would have to pass him in order to leave. Lance tried his hardest to walk past Keith without looking like he knew the man was waiting for him, but Keith stuck out his arm, effectively blocking his escape route.  

“Hey,” said Keith experimentally,

“Thats was… intense huh?”

“Uh, yeah.” said Lance uncommonly untalkative. “I’m going down to the hangers to give Red a tune up before we have to leave, do you wanna come? I could help you make sure Blue is up to speed.” 

He watched as Lance visibly blanched. 

“I, uh, have some other, uh, things I was already planning on-”

“AHH COME ON LANCE!” he burst out impatiently,

“What the HELL else do you have to do in the middle of space? Sit in your room and polish your bayard?”

His captive audience looked as though he wanted to say something about that comment, but his cheeks just turned a bright red as his mouth snapped shut without uttering a word. The significance was lost on Keith.

“Look Lance. I know you're avoiding me. I though we put some of this shit behind us last night, but if you still want to be an asshole about it…”

“NO! No that's not it,” Lance cried, gesturing wildly, 

“It's not YOU dude, I'm not,  _ upset _ at you.” he ruffled his hair in an exhausted sort of way, and for the first time Keith noticed the bags under his eyes.

“I just… didn't get enough sleep last night ok? I don't feel super great. I was gonna go back to my room and sleep some more before we had to roll out.” 

“Oh.” He suddenly felt a little guilty for the interrogation. It  _ WAS _ really fucking early. For Lance any way. He wasn't entirely sure that Lance was being straight with him about none of this being about him, but he realized this probably wasn't the time or place. 

“Sorry Lance, I'll uh, let you get your rest.” He stepped aside and watched his friend(?) amble down the hall in the direction of his quarters. He watched him go, for what felt like an inappropriately long amount of time before tearing his eyes away from his shrinking form and turning to go in the opposite direction. 

He decided to head to the hangers anyway. He needed some time with his favorite big cat. 

 

Red sang out an enthusiastic roar as Keith walked through the door. 

“Hey girl, how ya been?” He reached up his arms, and felt a surge of fondness in his chest as she bent down to place her large nose between them. 

“Awe, I missed you too.” 

Keith had never been a big pet person. He found dogs the be too needy, and cats too aloof for their trouble, but Red was more his speed. Her combination of semi sentience, self sufficiency,  incredible loyalty, and size somehow greatly appealed to him. Not to mention she was mechanical, which was more then ok with him. He could understand mechanics so much easier then flesh and blood. Which was being proven over and over again lately. He furrowed his brow, but let the thought slip away.

“It's been too long girl, but don't worry, you'll get to stretch your legs tonight. We finally have something to do besides save space hitchhikers from asteroids. It sounds like this is going to be a Big One.” 

The giant cat purred contentedly, and laid down with a clang, as Keith pulled up a stool and his trusty toolbox. 

He flipped open an access panel with all the practice of a man who had done this a thousand times before, and turned over a small flashlight in his hand, peering into the recesses of her mechanisms.

“Just want to make sure everything is working perfectly.”

As well as not being a pet person, Keith wasn't one to talk much about himself. In this way, Red was also an acception. Keith found it easy to ramble on about the team, and his feelings regarding their missions to the feline as he busied himself tinkering with her inner workings. After all, it wasn't like she could ever repeat anything he said, and she never interrupted except to give an encouraging rumble. Today his mind seemed to be hopelessly stuck on one subject.

“-and it's not like he really  _ DID  _ anything specific, I just feel like this morning he was... I don't know, treating me differently.” Keith aggressively twisted the Altean socket wrench in his hand, tightening a bolt that had come almost imperceptibly loose. His mind was too wrapped up in its own turning to notice the bolt was probably already plenty tight, 

“And I'm not really sure  _ WHY  _ I care, except that I do. It's annoying how much I care.”

Red let out a grumble that sounded distinctly as though she knew something he didn't. 

“Now don't give me that!” He wouldn't have a metal cat trying to instill emotional clarity on  _ him _ . 

“I  _ care _ , because for a moment there, I really, thought we were going to be friends. And I don't know, it felt… good. It's been a really, really long time since I had one of those…” he stopped for a moment resting his hands on his knees thoughtfully. 

His mind shifted unconsciously back the the moment they had shared, eyes locked, fists bumped. The look on Lance's face had been… something else. Keith had never seen him look at him like that before. 

“I mean, I have Shiro, but he's more like a mentor.  He's always been my leader. It's not like we really joke or… do whatever it is friends do together.” Awkwardness engulfed him, and he quickly resumed busying his hands. 

“I was alone for so long in that shack. And at the time I really thought that's what I wanted… but I forgot what it felt like to have someone, care I guess. And now I'm here, forced to be a part of this group and...and, I still just feel…. Alone,” his knuckles were white gripping the handle of his wrench, work forgotten, Lance’s smile still etched in his brain, 

“I don't know Red. It just felt like for a moment there we  _ had _ something... I guess I should have known not to expect much from him.” 

Red leaned down, gently purring, and nuzzled her Paladin with as much affection and concern as a giant metal lion can possibly exude. Keith laughed, the single tear that had been threatening to escape his eye evaporated. He held her giant muzzle in his arms gratefully. 

“But I’ll always have you girl! Who really needs more than that anyway?” 

 


	3. The Only Cool Mustachioed Uncle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance finds a kindred spirit in his 12,000 year old alien uncle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear fanfic-ers, Coran needs more love. Sincerly, CoranStaner4Life

This, was not Lance's day.  

“uuUUUHG!”  he groaned, ripping off his eye mask and flinging it across his room in frustration. He had been laying in the dark silence of his bunk for a stupidly long amount of time. Despite the fact that he was extremely tired he couldn't seem to find sleep. His mind was clouded with a thousand thoughts that he just couldn't seem to ignore. Worst of all, he knew the problem, and it rhymed with ‘Bullet.’ Honestly, he'd rather take one then have to think about what all of this meant. He rolled over pressing his face into his pillow and let out a small frustrated wail. Why was his mind always making things so difficult? First he had to go and jeopardize the team by picking a weirdly personal fight with another paladin, and  _ then  _ as soon as they started to work things out, his brain had the  _ nerve  _ to go and make him have a dream about the guy. Lance almost could have handled it better if it was a weird sex dream. He had had weird sex dreams before, they usually didn't really mean anything. One time he had a dream in which he watched the Burger King go at it with the Queen of England. And he just woke up hungry for a big mac. No, this was,,, different. It was disgustingly sweet and tender was what it was. And it horrifyingly made him reevaluate every interaction he'd ever had with Keith. He though back to all the things that had always made him despise the mullet man. Even before he knew him personally, back at the garrison, Lance had been unmistakably drawn to the guy. In every lesson Keith had outshone all his classmates. In the simulators his technique was just… perfect. In hand to hand combat Lance couldn't take his eyes off of him. He used his weapon like it was an extension of himself. His form was amazing. His muscle tone was... impressive. His confidence was intoxicating. Only now did lance remember that he had admired these traits before he hated them, before he started being compared to them. Keith had always caught his eye. He found him irritatingly impossible to ignore. He remembered a particular sparring lesson where the two of them had been teamed up. It was the only time Lance ever really came in contact with the mullet pre-Voltron. They had to wear these sort of skin tight black shirts for sparring. They showed practically every muscle. He had been self conscious wearing his. He was a skinny early teen, and the attention the outfit drew to that made him supremely uncomfortable. But not Keith. He had stood in the ring, a determined look on his face, barely registering there was anything embarrassing happening at all. When their commander signaled for them to begin, Keith had launched at him like a cat. They grappled for a few seconds, but lance just couldn't focus. His eyes kept getting caught on the rippling muscle just inches from him. Not to mention his hands were slicker  with sweat then if they had been covered in butter. Soon Keith had him pinned. Lance's brain had overloaded. Keith was breathing heavily, literally sitting on top of him. All that physical contact, he felt like he might short circuit. Maybe he would have come to a realization as to  _ why   _ that was, if their commander hadn't broken the moment,  and without an ounce of mercy, ripped into Lance in front of the whole class. He had even made different students point out his mistakes in front of everyone. All while Keith stood off to the side and received praise for besting him. After that all he could see in Keith's skills and strengths and looks, were the lack of his own. He had gone to his bunk that night thinking about nothing but his stupid classmate, with his stupid muscles, and his stupid mullet and how bad he had made him look. Forgetting, maybe a little bit on purpose, that it was because of his.. whatever it was, for Keith that made him choke in the first place. That was when he had decided they were going to be rivals. He started working out more. He and Hunk spent much of their time in the gym after that. Hunk spotted him and gave him encouragement like the good friend he was. Pidge sat off the the side, doing research and slinging insults in the name of motivation. Lance appreciated the help, but really the only encouragement he needed was the thought of Keith's face when he finally noticed how strong his rival had gotten. Lance got taller, stronger, and faster. He spent hours of his free time in the simulator. He sparred with Hunk until he could pin his large friend in less time then it took to say ‘start.’ All of this in the hopes that his stupid long haired classmate would notice him. But somehow, he never did. Somehow no matter how hard Lance worked, he couldn't catch up to the effortless skill of the Garrison’s top pilot. All he wanted was, just once, for Keith to look at him, and in the face of his skills be forced to say, ‘Wow, you're a really good pilot Lance.’ But the recognition never came. Soon Keith had disappeared from school. Leaving Lance to believe he had lost his chance to rub it in his face forever. He had kept that bitterness in his heart all that time, until he saw Keith out in the desert on that stupid bike, riding into the face of danger like some sort of fucking action hero. He knew that he had one more chance to prove his superiority. His competitive spirit reignited that night, and burned strong ever since. That was, it had, until Keith had to go and ruin it all by saying the exact thing Lance had always hoped to hear. He had liked it so much better when his own insecurities kept him from seeing the truth. That maybe, the reason he cared so much about what Keith thought of him, was because he sort of, possibly, thought Keith was a little bit, incredibly attractive.

Another groan escaped his lips as he tried to force these thoughts down, and failed miserably. It wasn't like he didn't know he liked guys. He totally did, it’s just that he had always found it easier to keep that part of himself lowkey. When you’ve lived most of your life with your Catholic family, and old fashioned Abuelita like he had, girls just tended to feel… simpler. He had noticed plenty of guys in his time, and he was ok with that. The problem was, this wasn't just  _ any  _ guy. This was tough as nails, loose cannon, shoot first ask later Keith Kogane. His teammate, his biggest competitor, and his long time irritation. Mr. Perfect himself. There were a million reasons why getting all mushy over this dude was a monumentally BAD idea. A major one being that the guy would probably drop kick him, or like, let him out into the cold abyss of space or something if he found out.

He thought back to the part of the dream that made him cringe the most. ‘My Hero!~*’ had said dream Keith, like a Quiznaking  _ disney princess _ .  _ Lance  _ had been the one to save  _ him.  _ Which was fucking laughable. Keith never needed saving. Especially not by him. He tried to imagine real Keith saying those words and couldn't find it in himself to finish the phrase without cringing so hard his face hurt. Boy was he in some deep shit. He tore his blanket off in a huff, throwing his legs over the side of the bed in defeat. There was no way he was going to fall asleep at this rate, so he might as well get up. He didnt care what he did anymore, anything had to be better than this.

 

Lance found himself wandering around the castle of lions aimlessly. His blue lion slippers making small slapping noises as he wandered down the endless empty hallways. He had explored the castle fairly extensively, but every time he set out without a destination in mind, he found somewhere entirely new. He was always surprised at how much space the ship actually had. He wondered how many people it was actually built to hold. He guessed it probably could have comfortably housed and entire city. The thought made him sort of sad. All the Altean nobility, pilots, paladins, and citizens that had once roamed these halls were now gone forever. The emptiness must be suffocating to the two people who had know it in its prime.

Lance rounded a corner, and as if his thoughts had conjured him into existence, there was Coran walking down the hall towards him. He was looking pensively at a device on his wrist and took a few moments to notice he wasn't alone. When he did look up his clouded expression cleared instantly upon seeing he had company. 

“Lance!” he cried cheerfully, jogging up to the younger man,

“Fancy seeing you here! Were you looking for me?”

Lance felt suddenly odd in the jaunty gaze of the Altean.

“Uh, no I wasn't, but, uh, it's good to see you.”

“Oh,” said Coran, sounding only the slightest bit disappointed,

“I thought perhaps you had been, since my quarters are not far from here.”

Lance only then realized he had never been to Coran's room, he didn't even know where it was. Guilt rolled off of him in waves.

“I  _ am  _ really glad I saw you though,” he said, trying to cheer up the usually exuberant guy. Sincerely he added,

“I… have a lot on my mind. I sort of wouldn't mind some company.” 

Coran took in his companions troubled air, and compassionately placed a hand on his back. 

“Well in that case, may I show you the place I like to go when I have a lot on my mind?” he punctuated his sentence with a few light pats. 

“Uh, sure?”

Lance found he actually had a hard time keeping a steady pace next to the older man. He wove through the castle as though he knew it better then the back of his hand. He probably did, realized Lance, as he speed walked to keep up. He followed in silence for several minutes until Coran turned down a long hallway that felt significantly more ornate then the rest. Gone were the cold metallic walls and lights. Instead, they were replaced by a rich plush wallpaper in a reddish-orange that almost seemed to move and roll as Lance walked past it. The lower half of the wall was paneled in a substance that seemed similar to wood, except it was bright yellow gold. The grain swirled like the crashing waves of a sea. There were sconces on the walls, made of tooled multi colored metal sheets in smooth organic shapes. The light itself flickered a warm glow not unlike a real fire. He took in the majesty of it all, trying to ignore the fact that every one of these things seemed designed to remind him of Keith.

“Wow,” He breathed, running his fingers appreciatively along the soft walls. 

“This is beautiful. What is this place?”

Coran half turned but continued walking, a smile on his face. 

“You'll see!” he hummed, marching on.  

Soon the hallway widened even further, and Lance could see ahead to their destination. They slowed to a stop, and Lance felt his jaw drop, as he stared up at the largest and most elaborate set of double doors he had ever seen. Coran stepped forward and placed his palm flat on a panel next to the doors. It flashed green. Soon the hinges let out a great groan and with what sounded like considerable resistance, the doors gradually swung open. Coran walked backwards into the large room and gestured grandly.

“This!” he announced with glee,

“Is King Alfor's chamber!” 

Lance could only stare in awe. Though the room was covered in a thick layer of dust, and incredibly dark, he could tell it had once been magnificent. Almost every surface was covered in the plush red-orange material of the walls outside. Everything else seemed to be masterfully crafted out of the color changing metal.

“It's beautiful isn't it?” Lance had the feeling Coran was hoping for his approval, so he assured him he had it.

“I love it. I had no idea this was here.”

“Yes, well, it takes some know how to find. The castle was designed that way so if it was ever stormed, the royal family would have the most time to escape.” 

Coran walked about gesturing to various objects, explaining their significance.  

“-and here is where His Highness would receive guests and dignitaries, it's also where the original Paladins of old would congregate after a long mission to celebrate, or plan their next means of attack. ” 

He gestured to an ornate metal table with lion designs shaped into the legs. Delicately he placed his hands on the back of a large chair at the head of the table.

“I remember sitting next to his majesty right here on many such an occasion,”  he quieted, looking down at the chair with the same expression that Lance had seen him wearing in the hallway not long ago. He seemed to notice he had been quiet for too long and cleared his throat.

“And over here we have the Altean Crest inlaid into the flooring…” 

Coran continued to show Lance the attributes of the enormous room in detail. As they walked, he noticed how Coran avoided touching or moving almost anything in the room. There were still personal items on the dresser, and what might have once been tissues in the wastebasket. Most telling, the King's bed was still unmade. As though he had sprung out of it one day, not knowing he would never come back to make it. Everything was still covered in that thick layer of dust, but, there were ruts worn in the floor where there was none. Coran had been in here a lot since he woke from his 10,000 year nap.

“-but anyway my young Paladin,” he said, turning to face his guest,

“ this is not what I brought you here to see!” 

Excitedly he strode across the room, and patted his hand on the only dust free item in sight, an unadorned bench, which felt oddly out of character in its fancy surroundings. He indicated that Lance should sit, and he walked across the room, and did so, a little perplexed, because the view wasn't great. He was staring directly into a pair of dusty old curtains. 

“Are you ready?” Coran's smile bordered on giddy. Lance nodded, not really sure what for. With the go ahead, the mustached man reached up, grasped a braided tassel, and with great flourish, yanked it. The curtains parted with a woosh, sending particles of dust swirling into the air. Lance instantly took back what he had thought about the view. Spreading out in front of him was a curved window that took up the entire fourth wall of the room, easily 40 feet high, and just as wide. Laid out before him was an unobstructed view of the entire galaxy, rolling slowly past as they traveled. Almost close enough to touch, was a red giant star. Lance knew it was really millions of miles away yet, but it was near enough that he could see the swirling and flickering of it's surface. The dust floating around them caught the red hue and looked almost like dancing embers. It was breathtaking. 

Coran took the seat beside him. 

“Coran this is just…”

“Wonderful isn't it.” 

Lance had thought he had seen space before, in his lion, on the observation deck, but it had never been like this. Here he felt like he was sitting on the very edge, ready to dive head first into the stars. 

“You know, Alfor never wanted all this luxury,” Coran mused, almost as if talking to himself,

“The builders made it up like this, so he would look impressive to dignitaries. The only thing he ever asked for, was this window. He always wanted to be as close to the stars as possible,” he leaned forward, head in his hands,

“I come here to be close to him.”

Lance didn't know what to say. The fact that Coran would bring him here, to a place so personal, made his heart melt. His own problems felt increasingly insignificant. 

“Thank you, Coran, for letting me see this.”

“Of course,”  he sat back up and placed a hand on Lance's shoulder, stroking his mustache with the other,  

“You know, I see a lot of myself in you.” 

“What, you mean the follicles necessary to grow impressive facial hair?” Lance couldn't keep from joking for very long, and stroked his own bare upper lip in imitation. Coran just laughed.

“No, I meant that you’re a joker, and a bit of a show off,”

“HEY!”

“ _ BUT _ , in the end, you care. A lot. You're a good kid Lance, and I'm sure whatever it is you're worried about, you can work it out,” The Altean turned his attention back to the view, smiling faintly,

“Just know, if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here.” 

Lance didn't know how to feel. He was about one more heartfelt conversation away from dying of emotion overload. He tried to remember the last time anyone had offered to talk to him about his troubles, and realized he had to go all the way back to before he left earth. Coran had given him exactly what he needed in this moment without even knowing it. Coran really was a great space uncle. Lance felt bad that he hadn't spent more time with the guy up until now, but he vowed that he would in the future. Assuming they had a future, and weren't, ya know, killed by Galra in the next 24 hours.    
Sadly he didn't have long to languish in the moment, because, as if reading his mind, the alarm sounded again, prompting both men to jump to their feet.    
“Ah, nothing like a blaring death siren to break a tender moment!” Lance quipped, as they headed back down the hallway they way they came.    
“I wouldn't have been living on this floating hunk of metal if I wanted it any other way!" cried Coran, picking up his pace in anticipation.    
Lance could only laugh breathlessly as he followed, nearly tripping in his slippers trying to catch up.


	4. Never Turn Your Back on a Galra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge finally has time to shine, Lance engages in a staring contest, and red and Keith get to beat up some space kitties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so happy to post this one. This is the chapter I had the hardest time writing yet if you can believe it, I was so nervous about having to write a battle sequence. I was so tired of looking at it, that it only went through like, 2 rounds of editing instead of my normal 4 or 5 lmao, so if there are spelling/ grammar errors that's why. Tell me how you liked it!  
> (P.s. yes, I do use the f word a lot, no, I'm not sorry)

Keith reached the bridge much faster this time. He was only the third to arrive. He stood, pulling on his suit, as The Princess and Shiro conversed in hushed tones near the platform at the center of the room. He walked up securing his breastplate in place. 

“So what's the situation?” he asked,

Allura and Shiro exchanged grim glances.

“I am going to wait for the rest of the Paladins to arrive before we start laying plans, but,” she hesitated, looking again towards her head Pilot,

“ it looks as though we are in for an arduous battle.” Keith though that was an oddly fancy way for her to tell him they were in deep shit. 

He finished buckling his boots and turned as the sound of footsteps met his ears.  Pidge strode up, out of breath and hair ruffled.

“Hey. So, I've just been going over the scans and I hate to tell Y'all but we are in some seriously deep shit.”

ah Pidge, they always did have a way with words. They held out a small device at arms length to the growing crowd. On the tiny screen blinked about a hundred differently sized red lights surrounding a large gray circle, and waaaaay in the corner, blinked one tiny green light. 

“So, you guys see this gray thing? That's Cristoa, the red things are all Galra ships, and this little wimpy green thing? That's us.” 

“Fuck.” Keith couldn't help but let his mouth drop open at the sheer number of combatants they were looking at. On one hand, he was about ready to shit himself just thinking about it. On the other hand, it had been a long time since they had faced any worthy foes, and Keith was itching for it. He had a lot of repression built up that he needed to release, and killing a mess of purple aliens seemed about as good a way as any.

Hunk arrived next, pushing into the fray.

“Wha’d I miss?” Pidge shoved the device under his nose without having to say a word.

“Shiiiiit…” he hissed, running a hand through his hair. He looked decidedly less excited then Keith. Actually,  he looked like he might be sick.

“I  _ may  _ have to use the little Paladin’s room…” he clutched his stomach and screwed up his face. 

“Don’t worry pal,” said Pidge, patting her friend on the arm encouragingly,

“It’s only like, a hundred thousand murderous aliens that want us dead, nothing Voltron can't handle.” This did not appear to calm him any, as his gills were even greener than before.

“Pidge, I thought we already had this conversation. What did I say about trying to comfort me?” They pretended to think for a moment. 

“That I suck at it, and to not?”

“Yes. THAT.” 

Gratefully, Coran and Lance arrived then, both looking as though they had just ran a marathon.  

“Dude where  _ were  _ You?” chided Hunk to his winded friend.

“Pidge is NOT good at dealing with my panic attacks,” his glare was only met by a shrug from the little green gremlin. 

“This castle,” Lance panted exaggeratedly, hands on his knees,

“Is fucking HUGE.” 

God Lance was such a baby, train much? Keith stifled a laugh, until Shiro caught his gaze with a scowl, and he remembered both his promise to play nice, and the seriousness of the situation. He coughed once into his hand and turned to look up at their leaders, trying to keep a serious look on his face despite Lance's comical wheezing. 

“Alright!” Called Shiro, the very face of strength, 

“We've all heard by now that we are up against something big here, but I expect you all to be at your best game. Remember, we fight for the Galaxy, not for ourselves. You all need to put your personal worries and vendettas aside and remember you are Voltron! Defenders of the universe! We are capable of anything as long as we work as one!” a chorus of ‘yeah’s! and whoops rang out from the team. Keith admired the way his leader always had the ability to pull them together. He smiled fondly looking up at him. This crew would follow him to the end of the galaxy. As Keith tried to watch the black Paladin, he couldn't help but acknowledge a paranoid itch on the back of his neck. Keith turned his head to the side just in time to catch Lance watching him, as he watched Shiro. He had caught Lance glaring daggers at him more times then he could count but this was… different. Lance’s face was soft, contemplative. If he hadn't known better, he might have even thought it was affectionate. The other boy blanched before he could fully take in his expression, and turned quickly away. Keith couldn't tell if his face was red, or if it was just the lighting, but he decided it must have all been his imagination and turned back to the front. 

“I'm going to give the floor over to Allura and Pidge so they can discuss our strategy said Shiro when his pep talk was finished.

“Thanks my dude.” saidpudge, grabbing the microphone and turning towards the platform,

“Now, to get down to business,” they attempted to swing their own leg up over the side of the stage and climb up where Shiro had been, but they were left hanging for a few moments flailing their extremities as the distance was too great. They couldn't get all the way up the wall. Keith heard his teammates giggle, and was glad for the levity in such a serious moment. Finally, the Princess took pity on the floundering Pidge and pulled them up roughly by the collar. They stood on steady ground and straightened their shirt clearly irritated. 

“Haha, very funny, I'm short, what a laugh! We get it!” 

Hunk at least looked a little less green, he noticed, and was chuckling fondly up at his friend with a sweet smile. The gesture oddly made Keith feel a tug of sadness, and as Pidge began going over what they should expect, he found himself looking across the room at lance again. The blue Paladin was pointedly not looking at him anymore. It made Keith feel annoyingly alone in the room full of people.

“-the cloaking device was pretty sophisticated, so instead of searching for life forms, or energy signatures, I went old school and programmed the sensors to search for heat, which is a lot harder to mask,” Keith snapped back to the moment, trying hard to put his thoughts aside and listen.

“Once I canceled out the input of the celestial bodies in the area, I found that there were quite a few individual heat signatures orbiting the planet and it's moons,” Pidge held up their device toward the screen, pushing their glasses back up their nose, and the image Keith had seen earlier appeared, enlarged many times. 

“Once I could isolate each individual signature, it was pretty easy to run them against the scans I'd done during our previous battles. That gave me a pretty good idea of what kinds of ships we were looking at.” they pressed a button, and the image switched to a 3d rendering of the planet, and several nasty looking Galra ships.

“So how I figure it, we're looking at 4-5 fully equipped battleships, 13-15 heavy artillery cruisers, at least 30 medium sized assault aircrafts,  a a fleet of no less than 50 single fighter jets, and a few others that I couldn't identify. Including, this bad boy,” they circled a large black silhouette with a question mark over it. Keith was alarmed to note it was about 3 times the size of the largest battleship. He could audibly hear Hunk swallow next to him. The large man tentatively raised a hand.

“Uh, yeah, Hunk I guess.” 

“So,” he started, shaking,

“I guess what I'm wondering is, um...how? How are we going to uh, do this? Because everything you just showed us looks pretty… um, bad.” 

“I am glad you asked Hunk,” Allura strode confidently into center stage, swiping aside the graphic to reveal a map with lots of arrows and directions.  

“The plan of attack is simple,” she said, gesturing to her images,

“The black, red, blue, and yellow lions will deploy as we approach the planet. You all will serve as decoys for the time being, drawing as many ships away from the planet as possible. Take out as many as you can, but stay away from the heavy artillery, and remember your main function is the freeing of Cristoa's airspace. Coran and I, using the cloaking technology Pidge has gleaned for us from researching the green lion, will pilot the castle around to the opposite side of the planet, as close to orbit as possible. Then our green Paladin will attempt to contact the Cristoan people and instruct them to deactivate this communication tower here. It is crucial that we decommission this tower because it is the main beacon between the Galra ground and air forces….” 

Keith had stopped listening. He knew this was all very important, but he just couldn't focus for some reason. The nagging feeling that he was being watched had returned. This time, when he turned to look, there was no way Lance could cover up the fact that he was staring. He attempted to look away, but Keith held his gaze.

_ Why the hell is he still looking at me?  _ He wondered.  _ Why is he acting so weird? _ He cocked an eyebrow, as if silently asking the blue pilot for an explanation. This time the blush on Lance's face was unmistakable.  _ And why don't I want him to look away?  _ Keith watched as Lance’s blush traveled up his face and over his ears. He swallowed slowly, not breaking eye contact. Keith's eyes followed the motion, tracing the curve of his neck, and then his jawline, and suddenly he felt his own face growing hot. He couldn't hear Allura talking anymore, the room around him had faded into the background until all that he could see was the embarrassed and sheepish face of his teammate looking back at him. Keith blanched. Holy Zarkon, that expression cut him someplace deep. Those baby blue eyes, staring contritely through a curtain of thick lashes, accompanied by the slow lick of his lips, and the ever teasing bob of his adam's apple was doing things to Keith that he really wasn't ready for. Since when had Lance looked so…?

“Alright!” The commanding voice of the Princess jerked him out of his thought,

“Everyone get ready to roll out!” 

Keith pulled his eyes away from the sight before him to see his team all heading for the door. Shit! He should have been paying more attention! Stupid Lance and his stupid pretty eyes, and his stupid  pretty face… wait. 

Pidge whizzed past him and smacked him on the arm as they went.

“Come on ya’ quiznaker, don't just stand there! We have aliens to fight!”

He shook himself out of his stupor and headed through the castle on the heels of his team. He couldn't get to his lion fast enough. As he held onto the zipline, and rode in the shuttle that would take him to his hanger, he cursed for the millionth time how complex and stupid the whole trip was. How extra were Alteans that they couldn't just walk to their ships? Not to mention that the whole ordeal gave him way too much time to think about what had just happened. 

A familiar feeling rose in his gut that he struggled to force down. No. Keith Kogane was NOT about to catch feelings for some stupid, straight,  obnoxious, straight, skinny, straight, cargo pilot. Especially not when that guy was  _ LANCE MCFUCKINGCLAIN.  _ That was  _ SO _ out of the question. The guy was a dick, and a show off, and still fucking hated him apparently, despite what he had assumed was going to be a turning point for them. Not to mention he broke Keith's two cardinal rules: 1. Don't date space coworkers, and 2. Don't fall for straight guys. Keith steeled his gaze as his cruiser moved down it's track, trying, but failing to focus back on their impending mission. ( _ Dating? ‘Falling for?’ it had been a STARING CONTEST. Why was his mind even thinking these things all of a sudden?)  _ It’s not like they hadn't ways had a sort of tension. A lot of tension, actually. His dumb brain probably just didn't know what to do with that now that they were supposedly not longer ‘rivals.’ That intensity was obviously  _ anything  _ but sexual.

He plopped unceremoniously into the driver's seat of his lion. She rumbled around him in greeting, somewhat derailing his train of thought. He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, and affectionately ran a gloved hand over her controls.  

“Hey girl, good to see you.” She grumbled in an upturned, questioning way, as if asking why he sounded so far away. 

“Ah, I'm just stuck in my own head,”

It's not like any of this mattered anyway, he told himself. He was a 19 year old trapped in space, at this point he probably would have found  _ Pidge  _ attractive. It was just that Lance was a guy. A good looking, talented, sort of pretty funny guy. (Not that he would ever admit it.) That he really just wanted to get along with. He was convenient was what he was. It's not like anything would come of this anyway, Lance wasn't going to wake up one morning and suddenly realize he was into him. Keith wasn’t that lucky. Most likely the only thing that would come of this… infatuation, he had briefly felt for Lance, was that he would end up making things awkward between them. No, it was really for the best to just forget this now. 

Keith shook the thought out of his head, like water from his ears and set his sights ahead. What better way to get out his frustrations then flying through space shooting things? 

The hangar doors were opening slowly, and he could feel the tension mounting, both in himself, and in his lion. The two had a shared love of battle that had made Keith fond of her from the moment they started working together. He gripped the controls in anticipation.

“You ready for this red?” The lion let out an enthusiastic roar that rattled him to his bones. 

“That's what I like to hear!” 

Fuck all the stupid thoughts in his brain.  _ THIS,  _ was what really mattered. Saving the universe. As soon as it was open wide enough, the two shot out the bay door, two bullets in a loaded gun. Keith watched as the other lions, minus Green, joined the space around them. 

“Alright everybody!” crackled Shiro over the coms,

“Stick to the script, stay close, and listen for Pidge’s signal. We all need to be ready to form Voltron at the exact right moment!”  

A chorus of whoops and ascents flowed over his ears, and the crew began to head toward the planet.

The battle began like any other. The glowing purple hue of the Galra fleet was bright on the horizon. The paladins urged their lions forward at breakneck speed, and it wasn't long before their enemies took notice. The blue, yellow, and red lions shot a few goading blasts in the direction of their targets and soon the fleet was hot on their tails. Keith held red in her place as the Galra advanced. He dodged, and swerved, avoiding their missiles, and shooting a few cannon blasts of his own, but gave no ground. One by one his teammates peeled off and headed in the opposite direction, leading the galra away and shooting tail blasts over his head, but Keith wanted to wait until he could see the yellow of their eyes. He felt red ripple with anticipation beneath him.

“Steady girl.” 

When he could see a cruiser was approaching only a hair's breadth away, he activated red's jaw blade and surged forward. Dipping down below the craft he twisted his lion and dug the blade deep into its underside, gutting it like a fish. The cruiser dissolved into a series of small explosions just as he cleared its airspace. He ripped into the fray behind it, cutting and clipping airships and cruisers as he bobbed and weaved through the hoard, still advancing in the opposite direction. His heart was beating faster then it had been in ages. Adrenaline flooded his veins. He maneuvered his craft with skill and ease, avoiding blasts as though they were merely irritations. He continued forward, until he could see a cloud of small ships blocking his path. Nestled in the center of the swarm was the queen bee: a Galra Battleship, glowing with the effort of charging its main weapon. Keith only laughed.  

“Like fish in a barrel huh girl?” 

His lion let out a curdling roar as they unleashed a plasma blast that shook the space around them. It hit true, right in the center of the battleship. It was a moment before it's effect was apparent, but after a beat the ship exploded into a ball of blinding light. Keith let out a triumphant woop and didn't look away. He lived for this. The swarm attempted to scatter to avoid the blast, but soon most of them were consumed by flame, or knocked way off course by the sonic force of the blast. Keith continued forward until the very last second, when he wrenched red upward and upside down, just missing the fireball in his wake. He watched the fleet through his windshield blissfully as they now flew parallel overhead, back towards the team. 

“Show off!” he heard Pidge mutter through their comms. 

“Nice one Keith! Added Hunk, ever the sweetheart. Keith heard a scoff in his ear, that could only belong to one person.

“Shiro, aren't we supposed to be leading the Galra away? Not flying into the middle of an alien armada and blowing random shit up?” ooooof  _ course.  _

“Lance is right Keith,” he could practically  _ taste  _ Shiro's dad voice,

“Stay on task. This isn't an exhibition.” 

He rolled his eyes, at the same time rolling his lion. He righted her, and sent a few aimless shots over his shoulder as he pulled up between the black and yellow lions, who were leading the hoard away from the planet.

“Alright  _ Black Paladin _ , what's next?” he put as much malace into those words as he thought he could get away with. 

“Keep the armada busy until Pidge confirms the Cristoans have disabled the communication beacon. Speaking of which, how's it coming Pidge?” The sound of rustling on the other end was followed by a winded green Paladin,

“Uh, as good as can be expected I guess. The Cristoans got our message, but even with the whole fleet on the move there's still a lot of Galra on the ground. They haven't even reached the com tower yet because it's too congested with troops. Allura and Coran are providing as much cover fire as possible while still remaining hidden, but I'm probably going to have to take green in for ground support. There have been a lot of casualties already, and if they don't deactivate that com system soon the Galra will warn the fleet, and they'll figure out we pulled the old bait and switch.”

The team was silent with the weight of the words. Suddenly, Keith had an idea. 

“Pidge,” he asked, turning his lion around again, 

“Is the tower visible from orbit?” 

“Uh, kinda? It's pretty big.” 

He urged red back the way they came. 

“Tell the Cristoans to clear the area around the tower.” 

“Wait, why? What are you doing Keith?” 

“I'm taking out that tower.” 

“WHAT? NO THATS SO STUPID! WEREN'T YOU LISTENING DURING BRIEFING? THE TOWER HAS ANTI AIRCRAFT MISSILES THAT COULD BLOW UP A SMALL MOON! NOT TO MENTION YOU'LL LEAD THE GALRA RIGHT BACK TO THE PLANET!” 

He swung wide around the fleet, heading back toward the shining blue rock in the distance. Shiro's voice crackled over his ears.

“Keith! I ORDER you to turn your lion around! This is a horrible idea!” 

“We need to take out that tower NOW,  before the galra get word, head back, and exterminate the Cristoans. If we wait this could take hours, and cost thousands of lives. Red is faster than their ships. I'll get there before they ever do.” 

“What about the missiles!?” 

He whipped around a cruiser, worming out of it's sightlines and aiming a blast at its side before it could recover. 

“Red's fast. Same idea.” 

“Keith, buddy!” he faltered at the sound of Lance's  voice, but continued on his course, 

“Now is NOT the time to test the pullout method! This is your fucking life you're playing with!” 

He had cleared the last of the ships, and the planet was growing larger in front of him. 

“Then keep the Galra off my back,  _ sharpshooter.  _ so I can do this right!” with that he turned down the volume in his helmet so the protests of his teammates were only jumbled whispers in his ears. 

He could feel red tensing around him. 

“This is what we have to do. We got got this. Stick with me girl,” she let out an affirmative, if trepidatious grumble, and carried them both as close as they dared to the planet below. Keith cast his eyes over the planet in search of the tower.  Amongst the rolling pink clouds he spied a jagged purple and black spire. It cut through the pastel blue and pink scenery like a knife, leaching it's darkness into the earth surrounding it. It was massive, rising higher than any other structure on the planet. It was the perfect target. 

“Alright red, really charge up this blast, this one has to count.”

He warmed up both red's plasma cannon, and her heat ray. Watching the meters on his display climb towards full capacity. Out of the corners of his eyes he could still see the battle raging behind him, reflecting on the glass. In lue of convincing him to turn back, his teammates had taken to distracting the galra from his position. He could faintly hear blasts and yells over his comms, but tried to drown them out. He took a steadying breath as he watched the sky over Cristoa fill with missiles headed straight for his location. He knew he wouldn't be able to fire at them, not while red was still warming, so he activated her jaw blade and waited. As the first missile approached he jerked red to the side. It whizzed past them, nearly taking off paint. He watched in the rear view as his suspicions were confirmed. Yep, the missile was locked onto his signature. As it curved to come back towards them, Keith whipped red around. The missile shot past close once again, but this time as it did, red slashed it with her blade, sending it tumbling back down toward the tower. It exploded in the atmosphere below, sending bits of shrapnel into the air and the top of the spire. As the second missile approached, they took the same ready stance, aggressively striking it and sending back where it came from. One by one Keith and red struck the projectiles, like a batter hitting ball after ball out of the park. They whirled around, dodging and whipping and striking in perfect harmony.  Keith hadn't felt so alive in ages. He watched as the meters climbed in expectation. Just as they struck a final missile, flinging it back towards the planet, the display blinked a bright red, indicating their capacity was at 100%. 

“NOW!” He yelled, swinging to aim at his target, and flipping the switches with a force that might have damaged them, had Keith not just serviced his lion. Red yowled as the beams tore out of her mouth, bright red and churning. The light cast a crimson glow over the cabin, setting Keith's features in stark relief. His expression was wild and manic, made even more so by the deep red light. The ray caught up the remaining few missiles in its path, before striking the tower. The reaction was immediate. The top of the spire shattered like an icicle, flinging bits and pieces of purple metal into the atmosphere.  The rest of the tower followed suit, crumpling in a great heap that soon tumbled below the cloud cover. In its wake only a smooth pink sky, and rising smoke remained visible. Even with the volume turned down the reaction of his teammates was audible in his ears. Keith swung red around to face the fray, cheering into his microphone as he did. 

“Nice work red, you never let me down!” 

She roared her ascent. Keith's heart was soaring.

After a moment of celebration, the two moved to head back toward the heat of the fight. Keith was feeling a lot better then he had been earlier. Successful battle was the best medicine in his book. As he looked off into the distance, he could see the blue and yellow lions sparring with a cruiser, trading blows, working in tandem. He looked with endearment at his teammates. Sometimes he forgot how good it felt to be a part of something.  For a moment he felt nothing but peace, but that never lasts for him? Does it? Something wasn't right. 

He spun red on a dime, just in time to catch the missile in his sights before it rammed itself into his lion. He had a split second to curse himself for turning his back on an enemy without making sure it was dead, before everything around him went dark. The last thing he could comprehend before losing consciousness was the sound of his own name in his ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;))))) didnt think this was gunna get REAL DID YOU???


	5. Falling For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance falls for Keith 
> 
> Ps. (OH MY GOSH I'M SO DUMB. I JUST FIGURED OUT HOW TO KEEP THIS FROM DELETING MY ITALICS. I of course had to update the whole fic to fix this, and edit a few things, I hope this makes more sense now!)

“ _KEEEEIIIIITH_!”

Lance couldn't feel any of his extremities. The only sensation in his whole body was the burning in his throat from yelling, and the churning dread in the pit of his stomach.

“WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?”

“I dont know he just-”

“IT WAS A MISSILE-”

“Oh dear Quiznak!”

“HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT”

“KEITH, DO YOU COPY!? CAN YOU HEAR US KEITH!?”

Lance could hardly hear the flurry of voices tumbling over themselves in his helmet. His eyes were fixed ahead at the sight before him. In the distance the red lion was dark and unresponsive, a gaping crater in its side. It was impossible to tell if the wound went all the way through to red's cabin, but one thing was for sure, the lion was moving closer and closer the the planet below. It seemed without it's thrusters being online, the lion had been sucked into Cristoa's gravitational field. _Nonononononono._ His hands moved on their own, shakily flying to the controls and urging his lion forward. _Thiscantbehappeningthiscantbehappening._

His body was shaking violently, his breaths coming in rapid spurts, but the tremors did nothing to slow his acceleration. All he could see was the red lion, shrinking farther from view.

“Lance what are you-”

“LANCE!”

“You can't do this alone Lance!”

He couldn't hear the startled voices of his teammates. The only sound in Lance’s ears was the quiet sweet chuckle of the red Paladin. The only thought in his mind was the way Keith tucked his hair behind his ear when he was nervous. The only feeling in his body was the ghost of a hand on his own, a promise to do better. There was no way he was going to lose that.

He sped blue as fast as she would go, blasting Galra ships mercilessly as they attempted to block his path. He weaved through them at breakneck speed. Not noticing nor caring how dangerous his flying was getting. Only one thing mattered.

He didn't slow when he cleared the hoard and reached the place where the red lion had been, because it wasn't there anymore. The gravitational pull had caused it to accelerate rapidly, it was already scarily far out of reach. Lance didn't miss a beat. He nose dived forward, following the path of the red lion with a narrow focus. He felt a ripple around blue as they entered the first layer of atmosphere. She shuddered with the force and speed of their descent, but made no complaint as Lance urged her onward. The red lion was falling fast, but they were finally gaining ground.  Ahead of him red was dropping like a stone, tumbling through the air until the heaviest part of the ship, the crumpled head, was facing downward. The brief image of the lion striking headfirst into the hard ground below flashed into Lance's mind, and he flicked on blue's auxiliary thrusters in a desperate attempt to reach them before that happened. His lion was shuddering with the effort, but little by little they closed the gap, pulling up alongside the other. Lance was startled to notice that the part of red that faced the ground was alive with fire. The entry into the atmosphere had built up a lot of heat. He assumed that his own lion looked about the same, but she didn't have a massive gash in her head, dangerously close to the licking tendrils of flame. He made one more plea with blue for speed, causing her to let out a gut clenching roar as she pushed her thrusters to their very fullest capacity. They pulled ahead and in front of red, and Lance let out a shuddering breath, as the other lion crashed into them with the full weight of its descent. Lance flipped the lever in front of him deftly, switching the direction of their force, to push with all of blue's power upward. The sickening crunch and squeal of metal on metal was audible even inside of the cabin. All of Lance's muscles were clenched as he held the controls with an iron hand. His teeth ground into each other, hard enough that they would hurt later, but he couldn't be bothered to notice. Blue forced upward with all of the power she had left, but momentum and gravity were powerful forces to contend with, and Lance could hardly tell if they were slowing at all. He looked around the cabin wildly, searching for an extra set of thrusters, an airbrake, _SOMETHING_ to slow their dangerous free fall. His eyes landed on a pull stick, and he yanked it with the full strength of his arm. The loud screeching of a panel opening  overhead, followed by a flapping sound almost made him sob with relief. The parachute wasn't really built for this sort of high speed descent, but it billowed above them faithfully, and jerked the two lions upward as it filled with air. They were still falling. And falling fast, but the combined force of blue and the parachute seemed to slow them greatly. Only then did Lance dare look down to see the rapidly approaching earth beneath them. They were close enough now that they were passing through a deceptively tranquil layer of pink clouds. He couldn't help but imagine how this would look in slow motion, two giant lion ships, one supporting the other, free falling through a cotton candy sky. It almost seemed like a scene from a movie. The one right before a character tragically dies. He choked on that thought, and tightened his grip on the controls. There was no way he was going to let that happen.

They were slowing, but Cristoa was rising up to meet them fast. There was no way they weren't going to crash. He hadn't stopped to plan what to do at this point, and as he desperately tried to wrack his brain for a solution to the situation a large noise cut off his train of thought. He looked up out of his windshield in time to see a massive hole rip in the parachute above them. It flapped in the wind in several small pieces, useless to stop the air rushing through it. His whole body flushed as the two aircrafts gained speed again. He scrambled over his controls, looking for something he hadn't tried yet, but before he had time to react his whole body was jarred up and out of his seat with a terrifying force. The noise around him was deafening, the clanging and scraping of metal, the rattling as everything in his cabin was sent flying, the boom of the lions hitting the earth beneath them, and lastly the solid pounding as his body was thrown into the floor, and finally, a wall, which was now oriented parallel to the ground. Slowly the cacophony around him stilled, until all he could hear was the panicked beating of his own heart in his ears. He laid there for a moment breathing heavily, taking in the settling silence. His whole body ached. He moved his fingers and toes slowly, testing to make sure all of him was still there. When he was satisfied that he still had all his limbs, he rose up on one elbow, to survey the chaos around him through the cracked visor of his helmet. Big mistake.

“gAHAAHH!”

His wail broke the deafening silence, reverberating around the small room and making his head hurt. He definitely had a broken rib, maybe two. Gasping in pain, he clenched his arm to his side over a large dent in his armor and stayed in that position a few moments more. He had almost made up his mind the lay there until help arrived, when he suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place. Keith. With an urgency he didn't know he still possessed he rose to his feet. They buckled underneath him almost instantly, but he caught himself on the control panel in front of him. He tested his weight again and confirmed that he had most certainly also sprained an ankle.  At least he hoped it was only a sprain. He hobbled forward, a little disoriented in the cabin as it was no longer upright, and had a disturbingly large dent in it.

“Blue?” he ventured, his voice horse and painful in his throat,

“Are… are you still with me girl?”

Her response was a weak but audible rumble, and Lance sighed with relief.  

“I’m so proud of you girl, you did so good. But I need one more favor before we can get out of here ok? Do you think you could let me out?”

The cabin around him shook with effort, and he had to steady himself again as the path before him lit dimly with a sliver of light. Blue weakly parted her jaw, just enough to let Lance escape.

“Thank you girl, help is coming. Don't worry.”

Lance, of course, had no way of knowing this. He hadn't heard a sound from his helmet since they crashed, and he strongly suspected it wasn't working anymore. He hobbled through the slim hallway, shimmying painfully out of the small opening, and shielding his face with his arm as the full glare of the sun met his eyes. He blinked a few times to let them adjust, and took in the scene before him as well as he could through his spider web of a visor.

The lions had made a considerable crater in the Cristoan surface. A large dirt filled pit encompassed them, littered with plant matter and bits of jagged metal. Specks of dust swirled in the air like a fog,  settling in a thin layer on everything in sight. He was grateful momentarily that they hadn't crashed into an inhabited area. He looked ahead to where the red lion had landed several dozen feet away. It looked at though it had crashed into blue, and then flung to the side, skidding through the dirt for a spell before coming to a halt in a heap of earth. Red was lying prone, head half buried with rocks and dust, underneath a large blue plant, which looked remarkably undisturbed. Lance stepped down carefully on to the ground, weaving his way through the debris, limping and breathing heavily. The pain was intense, and the terrain was not ideal. As he picked his way around large jagged rocks, and what he hoped weren't important pieces of their lions, Lance wondered how he was even still standing. The pain was a constant burning haze, that made his mind fuzzy at the edges. All he could do was put one foot in front of the other, again, and again. Because if he looked up at how far he still needed to go, he was sure he wouldn't make it. There was no way he was going to collapse before he reached Keith. Because Keith needed him. Keith _NEEDED_ him. He held onto those words as he trudged on, until by some miracle he found himself at the mound of dirt covering the head of the red lion. He let out a sob he hadn't felt in his throat at the realization that he still had so far to go before he could reach the red paladin. He looked around desperately for something to help him clear the earth, when his eyes landed on a large curved piece of metal. There was no way for him to grab the instrument except by its jagged edges, but it was his only choice. He closed the hand that wasn't holding his ribs in place around the metal shard. Pain blossomed in his side as he attempted, and failed, to lift it. Holy shit was it heavy. He glance at the mound of dirt in front of him once again, and with a determined scowl, uncurled his other arm from his chest, and lifted it with both hands. He ignored the white spots in his vision, and the fire burning in his chest as he lifted the tool, and used it to scrape pile after pile of dirt from the head of the red lion. It had buried itself deep, and with each desperate scrape of his makeshift shovel, Lance breathed harder and harder. The sharp edges cut into his gloves, and drew stark lines of red from his palms, dripping down to mingle with the dark earth. Lance could hardly feel anything anymore. The only though in his mind was his repeated mantra. _Keith needs me. Keith needs me._ He dug diligently until he struck something hard. The vibrations traveled up his arms, and landed in his teeth, clacking them together and reminding him of how much they still hurt from before. When he looked down and saw the bare sliver of red metal among the rocks, another wave of adrenaline rushed through him. He redoubled his efforts, shoveling and scooping around the patch of red, freeing inch by precious inch of the lion at a time. When a large swatch was visible he dropped to his knees and started swiping away the dirt with his damaged hands. Soon part of Red's muzzle and windshield were visible. Lance was no longer trying to hold back his tears, they ran like a river down his hot cheeks. The taste of salt was heavy on his tongue as he wiped the dirt from Red's fractured windshield and cupped his hands to peer inside. It took him a moment to locate the red Paladin, and when he did his breathing nearly stopped. Keith was lying in a pile in the corner of Red's cabin. His body was contorted into an awkward shape that didn't look at all right. His leg laid at a sickening angle, and his helmet faced away from Lance so he couldn't see inside. Lance's hands were shaking.

_He cant be dead, he cant be dead, this fucker better not be fucking dead._

Lance looked around helplessly. He still hadn't unearthed all of red's jaw. There was no way he would be able to pry it open anyway without the help of the lion herself. But he needed to get to Keith. _NOW._

He looked down at the spiderwebbed glass in front of him. It was ridiculously thick to withstand the pressures of space, but the crash landing from orbit had fractured it quite a bit. He stood back up on shaking legs, and grasped the metal shard once again in his hands. With some effort he raised it above his head.

“ _aaaaAAHHHH_!”

With a yell that stemmed from his very core, Lance brought the sharp point of the object down onto the center to the spreading cracks. The impact forced the sharp edges further into his palms, and sent explosions of pain over his ribs. When the glass only splintered, he panted heavily and raised the metal above his head a second time. Again, and again he swung, driving his tool into the center of the cracks with all the energy left in his body. He was shaking, with effort, and with anger. Words ripped out of his mouth as he pounded on, ragged and furious. At who his didn't know.

* _Crunch*_

 _“_ YOU,”

_*Crunch*_

_“_ CANT”

* _Crunch*_

 _“_ FUCKING,”

* _CRUNCH*_

 _“_ HAVE HIM!”

* _CRACK*_

_“HE BELONGS HERE WITH ME!”_

_*CRRRAACK*_

With his last strike, the glass shattered beneath him. Lance tumbled forward with the momentum, falling headfirst into the jagged opening along with a stream of dirt and dust. His shoulder struck the metal floor, hard, and the impact knocked his helmet off. It rolled to the side forgotten. Lance rose up into his elbows,

“ _Koff, koff”_

His lungs were suddenly coated in the swirling particles of dirt that his helmet had kept at bay. His knees and legs were lashed from the sharp edged glass, but he couldn't give a shit. He had broken through. He didn't waste time or energy getting to his feet, and instead crawled on all fours to where Keith lay unmoving. His hands trembled as he laid them on the other boy's chest.

“K,,Keith? Can you hear me buddy? Speak to me!”

When the red Paladin didn’t stir, lance gently pulled the helmet up and off of his head. A tear fell from Lance's face when he saw what lay beneath. Keith was bleeding profusely from a cut on his temple. His black hair was mussed and coated in sweat, stark as it stuck in little wisps to his even paler than normal face. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open in a gentle O, lips just barely parted. Lance was frozen. He had never seen him look so peaceful. He looked so young without his brows drawn into a perpetual scowl. Like a child really. Lance had almost forgotten how young they all were. How dangerous all of this was. With a start he remembered where he was, and leaned down to place an ear over Keith's mouth. He nearly choked when, after several seconds, he still didn't feel or hear a breath against his skin.

_NONONONONO I'VE COME THIS FAR_

His muscle memory took over. Summers worth of lifeguard training at the community pool rushed back to him all at once. As quickly as he could without hurting him, Lance yanked Keith's breastplate up and over his head. He tilted the other boy's chin up with a delicate touch, smearing it with the thick red blood of his palms. Hurriedly he pinched his nose closed and placed his mouth over Keith's. He blew, and watched his chest rise with the motion. As much as Lance had pictured kissing Keith in the last day, (and if he was honest with himself, the last few years,) he had never imagined it would be under these circumstances. With still bloody palms, he entwined his hands and placed them over Keith's chest. He pushed with all of his strength, the ever morbid tune of ‘Stayin Alive’ playing in his ears as he pressed over and over to it's beat.

“C’mon Mullet, stay with me.”

He wined into Keith's mouth before covering it again with his own. He repeated those steps for what felt like hours, laboring over the motionless man before him, hoping beyond hope that the last thing Keith heard him say wouldn't be some stupid, snarky line he hardly remembered. He was almost to the point of giving up, allowing himself to come to terms with the fact that the man he cared so much about was nothing but a corpse in his useless hands, when he heard a cough. He looked down incredulous, as another small choke sounded from the red Paladin’s throat.

“AH, AHAHAH!”

Lance felt mania creeping into the edges of his mind as he leaned over, gingerly placing his fingers to Keith's neck, and an ear to his lips. A sob wracked his whole body as he felt a weak, but distinct pulse under his fingertips, and a light breath on his ear. Keith was still unconscious,  but he was alive, he was _ALIVE!_ Lance’s head was swimming. His heart was racing, the edges of his vision were blurring, but none of that mattered. Keith was alive.

He didn't move from his position, protectively hunched over Keith's weakly rising chest, but stretched out an arm, patting the metal floor around them until his fingers found Keith's helmet. Faint voices met his ears as he drug the piece of armor near to him. His fingers fiddled until he found the little blinking red button along its jaw that would send out a beacon and pressed it. When he had accomplished that seemingly enormous feat, he leaned his face close to the microphone.  

“If anyone can hear me, this is Lance. I just activated the beacon in Keith's helmet, so you should be able to find us. I'm with Keith. He's hurt pretty bad, I had to give him CPR but he's breathing. Just, please get here as soon as you can, I'm not sure how much longer he can hold on like this.”

When his message was complete, Lance let the headgear roll from his limp fingertips. His mind was as foggy as it had ever been. Getting those words out had been difficult,  and now all his body wanted to do was rest. He turned to look at Keith's soft face again. He smiled, and with a gentle touch, he smoothed the blood encrusted hair from his forehead.

“Don't worry Keith,” his voice was rough and ragged,

“I'm not gunna leave you. I'll never leave you.”

He thought for a moment he saw the other boy's eyes flicker, but his own mind was already dragging him into unconsciousness. He passed out, still curled into Keith's side, his fingers tangled into his thick black hair.

 

“Mm.”

Lance woke slowly. Something was happening, but his brain was working too slowly to figure out what. There was pressure on his wrists and side. He vaguely realized it hurt but didn't know what to do with that knowledge. With some effort he pried his eyes open and noticed he was being moved. Strong hands, one human, one metal, were gently pulling him off of the warm thing he was laying on. Keith. _Keith._ They were taking him away from Keith. His brain could only think about that one thing.

“NO! NOOOO!” he cried, suddenly thrashing against the hands that held him.

“NO, KEEEEIITH! NO YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME! YOU CAN'T!”

He could hear voices around him, but none of the words were making sense. Another, smaller set of arms wound around his middle, as the larger ones bent to scoop up the limp red paladin. Lance kicked and squirmed as much as his aching body would allow.

“NO, LEAVE HIM ALONE!!”

The arms held Keith tight to their chest and began to walk away. He lunged in the same direction,  but the smaller arms were still holding him back.

“LET ME GO! LET ME GO!”

The voices around him were pushing against his ears again, but his mind was all adrenaline and fear and anger. All he could think about was Keith.

“HE NEEDS ME!”

“-nce.”

He wiggled and wormed, all elbows and knees.

“-ance, Lance!”

His elbow connected with the thing behind him and the grip around his middle loosened a little.

“OW! _LANCE, YOU FUCKER IT'S ME!”_

He went limp with realization, and turned over his shoulder to see Pidge clutching their nose with one hand, presumably because he had elbowed it. Their voice was nasally and irritated as they tried to stop the slow drip of blood that now leaked from their nostril.

“You cunt, I was just trying to help you!”  

Lance felt badly for hurting them, but his mind and vision were still too foggy for him to really care that much.

“uh, um, I'm sorry, I uh, didn't know where I was.”

Pidge looked at him with barely masked concern.

“Whatever man, we gotta get going. This area is crawling with Galra. Green is parked outside.”

Obediently he tried to get to his feet, but his mind was swimming, and his ankle buckled underneath him.

“AH!”

He cried out in pain and pitched forward. Pidge moved just fast enough to catch him before he face planted into the metal floor. Their expression was filled with worry, as they gently raised one of his arms to wrap around their shoulders.  

“Ok tipsy, take it easy.”

Lance didn't have the energy to do much more then smile in gratitude as Pidge led him gingerly through the sea of glass and metal shards. Crawling back through the windshield was excruciating and Lance found himself panting with exertion before they even made it halfway to Green's open mouth. He noted with little comprehension that it was now dark out. Pidge led him through the opening, and up the gangplank. They helped him lay down awkwardly in a corner of the cockpit. Their voice was teasing but their eyebrows were knit together with concern.

“Stay over here ok? Don't want you crashing another lion.”

He nodded and gratefully sunk to the floor, but with  a start he jolted back up, looking around.

“Wait! Where's Keith?!”

He asked in a panic. Pidge was settling into their seat, and looked over their shoulder to respond.

“He's with Shiro in the black lion. We had to split up, the Galra are all over. We're heading back to the resistance base. Don't worry, he'll be fine.”

Lance let out a sigh of relief and rested his head back on the soothingly cool floor.

“But Lance, don't fall asleep again. I think you have a concussion.”

As Lance lay there on the ground, rocking slightly with the green lion as it flew through the air, he found it surprisingly hard to stay awake. His mind felt like melted ice cream, and his side throbbed dully. He let himself drift, not having the energy to remain more aware. The trip felt long and short at the same time. He hardly noticed when they landed. He was aware only vaguely of the motion as he was lifted to his feet, and then into a pair of strong arms. He nestled his head into the warmth, sighing contentedly. The voices of everyone drifted around him again, but he didn't bother to try and discern them this time. He didn't stir as he was carried for some time, and then placed softly down onto a table, or maybe a hard bed, it was hard for him to tell. Or to care. His last, drowsy thought as a glass dome whooshed up around him was of running his fingers through Keith's hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof! That was both very fun, and very difficult to write! I promise not all of this fic is going to be angst, but I had to pepper a little bit in there to make it fun! ;) leave me a comment, tell me what you thought!


End file.
